Their Runaway Mate (9 page)

“You are going to drive me mad, woman,” he growled, then kissed her again, wrapping his hand in her hair and holding her still for his assault.

All Anna could do was kiss him back and whimper as Carter devoured her mouth. Finally he let her up for some air after a few oxygen-depriving moments, and Anna’s head spun with dizziness and her body tingled with arousal.

“We need to stop and wait for Drew,” Carter declared, gently pushing her off his lap and back onto the couch next to him. “I’m going to call him tonight and have him come home right away. Otherwise, I will go insane from not being able to claim you and make love to you. Besides, I want him to be here to help us with your sister, she is a newly changed werewolf now, she will need our help and guidance to make the transition more smoothly. Whoever changed her really did some damage and it could take a while to undo it.”

“I can’t believe she is a werewolf now, and how could someone be so cruel as to hurt her like that?” Anna’s arousal now cooled with the change in topics, and her anger boiled.

“I don’t know, my sweet, but we will find out and we will take care of the problem.” Carter reassured, squeezing her hand. “But for now, I think you should go to bed and get some rest. I will get a hold of Drew and hopefully, he can be on the next flight back.”

He pulled Anna into another tight embrace, and then stood up, pulling her to stand with him. “Now leave me, get some rest before I decide to not wait for Drew, and take you here and now.” He growled, spinning her toward the door and smacking her on the butt.

Anna yelped and grabbed her behind as she started to walk toward the door. She could feel her face burning and she looked over her shoulder to give Carter a scolding look as she walked out of the office.

She stopped at her sister’s room on her way to her own and looked in on her, but her sister slept soundly, so Anna continued on her own. She changed out of her clothes, noticing she’d gotten some of her sister’s blood on her blouse, which just made her simmer even more, wanting to take revenge for what had happened to Cheryl. However, she just threw the blouse in the garbage, never wanting to see or wear it again, and changed into her pajama shorts and tank top, then climbed into bed.

She thought that sleep would evade her considering everything that had happened that evening, but after just a few moments darkness crept in and she fell into a deep slumber.

Chapter
Seven

Carter stood in the shower letting the hot water run over him as he thought about what he was going to tell Anna about her sister. The physician had come after she’d gone to bed and examined Cheryl thoroughly to evaluate the extent of her injuries. When he was done he’d told Carter that she’d not only been beaten within an inch of her life, but it appeared that she’d been sexually assaulted as well. Carter was afraid of telling Anna this news, but knew he had to and was nervous about her reaction. He knew she would probably either break down and start crying, or become really angry and demand blood for what was done to her sister, or possibly both.

The water had grown cold, signaling that he could no longer hide in the shower from his responsibility, so he turned it off and got out to dry off and get dressed.

He was still in his musings about how he was going to explain what had happened to Anna when he left his room to go down to the kitchen and make himself some coffee. Ella wouldn’t be up yet, considering it was still pretty early, so he’d have to fend for himself, but he didn’t mind. Days like this allowed him to be alone with his thoughts and allowed him to figure out how he was going to proceed with the rest of his day.

As he got to the kitchen door though, a whispering sound made him stop abruptly. He listened closely until he heard it again and it sounded as if someone was standing in the kitchen, using the phone. He peered around the open doorway and saw Cheryl, Anna’s sister, leaning against the counter and holding the phone against her ear while cupping it as if she were afraid someone would hear her.

She started to whisper again, so Carter listened closely to what she said, “Hey baby, I miss you.”

Was she talking to the piece of shit husband who beat her?

“Don’t snap at me like that, I’m doing my job,” she said indignantly, her voice rising.

“No, my sister’s still as gullible as ever, she actually thinks I’m here for her to take care of me and keep me safe from you.” Cheryl giggled, and Carter could feel his blood temperature rising. “I’ll look for their plans of attack later today. I’m still a bit sore from where you and your buddies got me ready to come here.”

Anna’s sister was sick. She let these men beat her to within an inch of her life in order to get into the house.

“I know, my sister is the same sweet naïve, little Anna, always trying to protect her little sister. Her mate is just as bad as she is, calling me ‘little wolf’ and saying he will be my Alpha now and take care of me. I don’t need them to take care of me, I can take…..” she trailed off her tirade, but Carter was already seeing red and his wolf was calling for blood.

He couldn’t believe how low Anna’s sister was to take advantage of her love like this. He now had a new understanding of why Anna never trusted her heart with anyone. Those who she did let in used her, and ripped out her heart for their own selfish pleasure. He vowed right there and then that he’d do everything to prove he’d never do that to her, and he’d love her the way she deserved to be loved.

“Okay, fine, whatever,” Cheryl pouted. “I’ll do your little job for you, since you’re apparently too incompetent to do it yourself. I’ll meet you at the cave later today with the plans and their security information. But I want Alpha to know that I am the one who did all the work, not you.”

The silence only made Carter’s ire fester. He wanted to run in there and take her down right there, throwing her in their prison, but he also wanted the wolves she was working with.

“Okay snookum, I love you,” Cheryl whispered merrily, blowing kisses into the phone before she hung up.

Anna’s sister was crazy and dangerous and Carter needed to neutralize the threat quickly, but first he needed to go and gather some soldiers to do a sweep of the woods. He knew exactly what cave Cheryl was talking about, it was the same one Phillip, his old Alpha, their Pack, and he had lived in before they built the compound.

He pushed away from the door silently and crept toward the office where he removed any paperwork that had to do with their attack plans or their security layouts. Then he silently went to the French doors in the office and slipped out, shutting the door with a soft click.

He began to race toward the compound, but stopped abruptly as if something hit him. What was he going to tell Anna now?

*****

Anna stood in the shower letting the hot water run down her body and thought about her sister. She was worried that she may not heal properly, or that she’d heal, then want to go back to that monster.

Cheryl was always the odd one out of the two sisters. When they were younger, she would actually look forward to their father beating her because she saw it as a way of affection. Their father never paid attention to her otherwise, and when he did dote over one of the girls, which was seldom, it was always Anna. Anna knew it was because Cheryl wasn’t really even his, but she still felt bad for her sister, so she tried to protect her, and show her true love and affection whenever possible.

When they got older, just before her parents died, her father started to sexually abuse Cheryl. He never touched Anna in any sexual way, saying she was really his and it would be wrong. However, he’d wait until their mother passed out, drunk, and creep into their room to touch Cheryl and have sex with her.

At first Cheryl cried because she was terrified, and he wasn’t gentle at all. He would continue to be abusive and would call her degrading names when he performed the act. Then, over a period of time, she began to welcome their father’s attentions, which just made Anna sick to her stomach because she slept in the same room.

Her father moved her to her own room after Cheryl started to go along with his sexual assault. Anna was relieved to not have to endure watching or hearing it, but she still worried about her sister. Her father sometimes hit Cheryl while he had sex with her, and Anna would worry she’d wake up one morning to find Cheryl dead.

The only decent thing he did when he did it was wear a condom, but that was because he didn’t want a bastard child by his slut of a stepdaughter.

Looking back, Anna came to the realization that watching what Cheryl went through with her father was probably one of the reasons she had stayed a virgin for so long. Just thinking about sex reminded her of her sister, and she wanted nothing to do with it.

However, when she was with Drew or Carter those memories didn’t surface at all. All she could think of is how aroused she was, and how much she wanted them to make love to her and claim her as theirs.

Anna started to feel aroused again, but she didn’t want to feel that way because she had more important things to think about, like her sister’s safety. She turned the hot water to cold, and stood under the spray for a moment figuring if this was what men do to cool their arousal it should work for her. After just seconds it definitely worked. Now she wasn’t thinking about sex at all, just thinking about how damn cold she was.

She turned off the tap and began to climb out of the shower to dry off. Now that her mind was back on track, she could think of what she needed to do to help her sister. Cheryl had come to her, seeking her support, and Anna was going to give it to her, no matter what.

She left the bathroom and began to dress into the clothes she’d laid out on her bed before her shower. Just as she pulled up her panties, Anna stopped. Why had Cheryl come to me? She welcomes this kind of treatment from men. How did she even find me after all these years of not talking? The only reason Anna ever got anything from her in the past was that Anna had lived in the same house her parents owned before they died. The only decent thing they did for her was give her that house in their Will, which she still owned, but refused to go back to after she’d started college.

So, how had Cheryl found her, and why?

Anna got dressed quickly and then left her room in search of her sister and answers. She tried the bedroom Cheryl was staying in, but found her bed empty, so she went downstairs. She looked in the kitchen and the family room, but couldn’t find her.

Then as she walked past the office door, thinking her sister wouldn’t go in there, she heard Cheryl’s voice. She started to walk to the door, but she heard Drew’s as well, which made her stop abruptly to listen.

*****

Drew couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d just gotten home, after Carter had called asking him to get home quick to claim their mate and take care of her sister, when he walked in on some blonde woman, who looked a bit like Anna, only sickly thin and dirty, going through paperwork in their home office.

“What are you doing in here?” Drew had ordered the young wolf, using his most menacing and authoritative voice.

When he spoke like that other wolves usually backed down and bared their throat, but not this one, she just grinned and looked him straight in the eyes. He saw the shiver go through her body and smelled the sickly sweet scent of her arousal. This wolf likes to be talked down to. Who is she?

“Well, hello, big guy,” she replied sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. “I was just looking for a pen and piece of paper to write my dear sister, Anna, a note, telling her thanks for the hospitality and goodbye.”

Drew knew she was lying and just stared her down, growling low in his throat, but it didn’t deter her. She rounded the desk and walked straight up to him, placing her hand against his chest, which made Drew’s stomach turn and his wolf scream for him to take her down.

“But now that you’re here, I don’t really see the point just yet,” her fingers danced across his chest, making his hackles rise.

“My mate would be very upset if you just took off on her like that,” Drew stated coolly, putting emphasis on the word mate.

She got the hint pretty quickly and stepped back, raising her chin indignantly, “So Anna has two mates, huh? Lucky girl. So are you two enjoying fucking my sister? Do you guys fuck each other too?”

Drew growled and bared his teeth, warning her to stand down.

“Oh please,” she said, laughing humorlessly and waving her arm to gesture for him to stop. “If you think your growling and snarling is going to scare me, then you are sorely mistaken. I enjoy it when a man beats up on me, didn’t Anna tell you?”

This woman was sick and couldn’t be related to his sweet little Anna.

“I’m going to ask you again and I expect the truth this time. What are you doing in here?” Drew demanded.

“Okay, fine,” she said, leaning against the desk as if she owned the place. “You found us out. Anna and I are helping another Pack break in here and take over.”

“You’re lying. Anna would never be a part of some Rogue attack.” Drew snapped, coming toward the female wolf and wrapping his hands around her throat.

She just chuckled and clucked her tongue, “Sweet little Anna, always the great actress. She really has you fooled, too bad I’m not as good an actress as she is, otherwise you wouldn’t be choking me right now.”

Drew stepped back, dropping his hand. “I don’t believe you. Anna would never hurt anyone or put them in danger, let alone her mates and their entire Pack.”

She crossed her bony little arms over her chest and glared at him, “So you think. We knew you were her mates long before you even met her. My Alpha had Anna placed right in front of you so you would take her in, and let her stay here. Then I would come along and infiltrate your compound, letting in my Pack mates and Alpha to take over your Pack.”

Drew didn’t want to believe her. He couldn’t believe that Anna, his mate, would betray him like that.

“She doesn’t want to mate with you, your kind sicken her. Why do you think she hasn’t even let you claim her yet?” The woman just smirked, “Knowing my sister, she probably thinks the fact that you two are gay is even more disgusting, but me on the other hand…..” She pushed off the desk and came back up to him to put her hand back on his chest, “I love being a werewolf, and I love watching two men fuck each other. I would take it any way you wanted to give it to me.”

Bile rose up into Drew’s throat and he swallowed it down. He grabbed the young wolf’s wandering hand and gripped it tightly.

“You’re coming with me. When Carter finds out what you were planning, you and your sister will have a happy new home, in our prison.” He stated, twisting the woman’s hand behind her back, and pushing her toward the office door.

Suddenly, Anna burst through the door. She looked at him, and then at her sister, a look of bewilderment and confusion crossed her face. Drew almost believed the woman in his arms was lying and Anna was innocent, but then a look of realization and resignation set in.

“Cheryl, what’s going on? Why are you here?” she asked, looking at the other woman.

“This is your sister?” Drew spat, angry with the realization that everything the woman had told him may have been true.

“Yes,” Anna turned her eyes to him. Where he once saw warmth and caring, he now saw nothing, but anger and disgust.

“I should have listened to Carter.” Drew just shook his head in disbelief.

“Listened to Carter about what?” Anna looked at him, confused.

“About you,” he replied. “I should have listened to him when he said you shouldn’t be trusted. I’m an idiot to think a human should be trusted.”

Hurt flashed across her face, “What are you saying?”

“Can’t you figure it out?” Drew glared at her, “I can’t even stand the sight of you. Once I take you to Carter, we will have you locked up and I will never have to look at you again.”

Tears ran down her cheeks and something inside Drew twisted in pain, but he was determined not to fall for her tricks anymore.

“You are nothing but a stinking human and I’m glad we didn’t mate you. You aren’t worthy of our claiming.” He started to push at Anna’s sister to start moving toward the door, “You better come with me quietly. I would hate to get your filthy, human blood all on my clothes.”

Just then, the woman in his arms turned around and bared her teeth at him, she’d partially changed and was now attacking him. She was smaller than he was, but still strong and it took him a little effort to break her off him. When he did, he partially changed and wrapped his teeth around her throat, holding her to the ground but not puncturing the skin.

He placed his knee into her back and let go of her throat to change back to human form and as he did, he looked up and saw that Anna had disappeared.

“Fuck,” he snarled, wanting to chase after her, but not wanting to leave this other woman to do it. He was stuck.